Rotary water-meter



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O. SOHON.

v ROTARY WATER METER. No. 484,465. Patented Oct. 18, 1892.

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C. SCHON.

A ROTARY WATER METER. I N0. 484,465. Patented Oct. 18, 1892.

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C. SCHON.

ROTARY WATER METER.

No. 484,465. Patented Oct. 18, 1892.

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G. SOHON. ROTARY'WATER METER.

No. 484,465. Patented Oct. 18, 1892'.

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UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE CARL SOHON, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

ROTARY WATER-METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters: Patent No. 484,465, dated October 18, 1892. Application filed August '7 1891. Serial No. 401,962. (No model.)

. ing water, and is of that class known as water-meters. It is designed to be placed in a supply-pipe to ahouse or factory and to register the quantity of water drawn from the mains and used in said house or factory.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the complete structure. Fig. 2 is avertical section of the lower part of the case,

taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan of the lower portion Fig. 4; is a vertical section of the interior wa ter-chamber, taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a plan of the interior chamber shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the piston. Fig. 7 is a plan of the same; and Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the whole device, taken on a line a: of Fi 1.

Iis the case in which the meter sits and through which the water passes.

2 is the cover of the case 1. It is raised in the center, so as to receive such portions of the apparatus as stand above the level of the top of the case 1. The contact-surfaces of the case and cover are ground to a'tight joint, and a thin gasket is placed between them, so that when the cover is bolted down a water-tight joint will be formed between them.

3 is a circular recess in the center of the case 1 of about one-half the diameter of the case.

4: is the water-inlet, which enters a channelway 6 (shown in Fig. 1) and is stopped by the wall of the recess 3, but opens upward through the opening 6 into the case 1.

is the outlet-pipe, which is immediately opposite to the inlet 4: and on the same level, but which opens into the recess 3 and drains the water from it.

7 is the interior casting or vessel. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 4 in section and in plan in Fig. 5.)

v8 is a seat around the under side of this vessel 7, which is ground to a smooth surface and sits upon the bottom of the chamber of the case 1 upon the edge of the recess 3. Beneath. this ground surface 8 is placeda gasket 9. Around the upper edge of the castihg 7 is a horizontal projecting flange 10, the top of which is ground to a bearing-surface 11. The casting 7 is of such a height that when it is placed in the case 1 with the lower edge bearing upon the gasket 9 around the edge of the recess 3 this upper surface 11 will stand exactly on a level with the top of the casing 1.

12 is a gasket between the cover and easing 1, and extendsinward, so as to rest, also, upon the bearing-surface ll of the flange 10. The lower edge of the cover 2 extends inward and also bears upon the surface 11. It will thus be seen that when the cover is bolted down, the casting 7 being in place, the

'joints between the edge of the recess 3 and the lower edge of the casting 7 and the under side of the cover 2 and the upper side of the flange will both be water-tight, and the chamber 13, between the exterior of the casting 7 and the interior of the casing 1 and which encircles the casting 7, will be entirely out off from the interior of the device, but will be supplied with water through the pipe 4 and opening 6, and all the water which passes into the apparatus and out of it must pass through said channel.

14E is a screen made of perforated metal or other suitable material and placed diagonally across this chamber 13 from the point of contact of the flange 10 with the exterior wall of the chamber 1 to the point of contact of the lower edge of the casting 7 and the bottom of the chamber 1.

15 15 15 are a series of tangential holes,

' which pass from the exterior to the interior of the casting 7. The drawings show six such apertures in the casting 7, located equally distant from one another; but any other number may be used. These holes are the only openings from the chamber 13 into the interior of the cylinder 7, and through them all the water which passes to the house must pass. In Fig. 5 the exterior ends of these openings are shown as protruding beyond the casting some distance. This feature may be employed or omitted, as is found most satisfactory. The holes 15 are shown somewhat better in Fig. 8, which is a section taken through the centers of said holes. The inlets 15 are tangent to a circle somewhat smaller than the circle of the wall of the casting 7 at the point where they enter.

The angle at which the water-inlets 15 enter the interior compartment of my meter is essential to its satisfactory operation. It is necessary that the impact of the water passing through these inlets upon the exterior surface of the piston should cause the piston to revolve, while raising it off its seat as little as possible. If the piston were cylindrical, the angle at which the water strikes the pis ton would matter very little; but as the piston is necessarily made slightly conical it is necessary that the water-inlets should deliver their water in the bottom of each bucket as the bucket passes the mouth of the inlet, thereby giving it revolving motion without raising the piston. To accomplish this, the inlets in my meter are made almost tangent to the exterior of the piston. The axes of the inlets should theoretically be tangent to a circle passing through the center of the bottoms of the buckets. Practically the inlets are -made approximately perpendicular to a radius of the circle of the piston and meeting said radius at a point about the center of the bottom of the bucket.

16 16 16 are notches or recesses cast in the interior of the casting 7 and located midway between the openings 15 15 15. They are six in number. The upper edge of the casting 7 is unbroken. The recesses 16 are formed by a removal of a portion of the wall of, the casting below the upper edge, the wall of the recess being a little more vertical than the inner wall of the casting 7. These recesses are about one-sixteenth of an inch deep at the bottom, which is on a level of the bottom of the casting or pan 7, and they gradually decrease in depth until they reach the proper edge of the casting, where they disappear. The bottom of the casting 7 is open; but across its center is a cross-bar 17, which is somewhat depressed at the center. Through the center of, the cross-bar is a hole 18 for a pin, below that a keyway for a piece of hearing metal or glass 19, which forms a seat or step for a vertical pin or shaft 24, which passes through the hole 18.

20 is an aperture through the cross-bar 17 and just above step 19, through which the water can freely pass, so as to lubricate the step and remove any particles of worn metal which may accumulate.

21 is the piston. The walls are somewhat inclined, being smaller at the bottom than at the top; but this structure is not essential, although superior. It is open at the bottom,

' but has cross-bars which sustain and to which are secured a central pin 24, which enters the hole 18 and rests upon the step 19 and forms a vertical shaft or guide for the registering pan or cylinder.

In order that a meter may with perfect accuracy measure the water passing through it, it is necessary that all of the water entering the meter should be caught in a receptacle, measured,and discharged. In my meter, if it were possible to cause the piston 21 to sit closely upon its seat on its exterior surface and not permit any'water to escape from the buckets in which it is received until they reach the discharging-slots 16that is to say, to prevent the piston from riding up so that water would flow downward from the mouths of the water-inlets into the space below the piston without entering the buckets and turning the pistou-an exact register of the water passing through the meter would be made. Such a construction would, however, involve an amount of friction between the piston and its seat which would cause the piston to wear to a destructive extent. A perfect contact between the piston and its seatmight also be accomplished by making the piston cylindrical; but with the cylindrical piston it is impossible to eliminate the element of friction while retaining contact close enough between the piston and its seat to make the meter at all accurate. If, as before mentioned, the piston be made with any considerable amount of incline on its exterior surface, the impact of the wateron that inclined surface will cause the piston to ride so high above its seat as to permit a very large amount of water to escape without being registered. I have found it, therefore, necessary to locate my water-inlets, as above mentioned, in such a way as to give the piston the greatest amount of rotary motion and the least amount of riding motion. I construct my piston with a slightly-conical exterior surface for the purpose of grinding it satisfactorily upon its seat, maintaining it as near as possible to a cylinder in shape, while inclining its exterior surface sufficiently to cause it to float j ust enough to overcome the friction between it and its seat. This is a matter of very delicate adj ustment, and the best results are accomplished by making the piston as light as possible, so that it will be buoyed up by the impact of the water against it sufficiently to raise it upon its seat far enough to prevent it wearing. I have found that the lighter the piston the more nearly cylindrical I am able to make it. I have found thata piston made of athin sheet of aluminium stamped into proper shape, with its exterior surface very slightly conical and the buckets indented therein, enables me to get a more perfect measurement of the water passing through the meter than I can obtain with a piston made of any other material.

The piston in my meter being very light and thin and being disconnected from all of the other parts of themechanism, merely resting upon itsseat by gravity, will be caused to turn and float in the. water in the interior of the meter, so as to be entirely free of the retarding influence of friction. It is also free to move laterally, and this is a very importaut feature,in that it often happens that solid bodies-such as shells, sticks, small fish, or other things-will pass throughthe pipes and become lodged in the meter,so as to clog up and prevent its action if the pistonis held rigidlyin any way not permitting free motion. In my meter, the piston being disconnected from other parts, is free to move vertically under the influence of the impact of the water, and also laterally, so as to permit a piece of solid matter to pass below it. The action of the piston with the registering mechanism is by means of a loose joint, as shown in the drawings, which may have any number of links in it, so as not to impede either the vertical or side motion of the piston, but at the same time to register all of its turns.

23 23 are recesses or notches impressed into the exterior surface of the piston 21 and of a peculiar shape, (shown in the drawings, Fig. 6,) the depressed portion of the recess being at the top and the recess tapering off to nothing at the bottom. The recesses 23 are made of such a size and number that they will contain a specified quantity of water. The water as it emerges from the openings 15 will strike and enter these recesses, which stand immediately opposite the openings 15 15 and cause the registering-cylinder to revolve. The exterior of the cylinder 21 fits closely the interior of the cylinder or casting 7, and it will be seen from Fig. 1 that the water'received by the recesses 23 23 can only escape by flowing downward, and that this escape could not take place unless the recesses 16 16 were provided in the inner wall of the cylinder or casting 7. There being six water-inlets 15 15 and six recesses 16, it will be observed that the recesses 23 23 are filled six times with every revolution of the piston 21 and as many times emptied. In order to determine, therefore, the quantity of Water passing through the machine, it is only necessary to calculate the capacity of the notches 23, multiply this capacity by six, and we will have the quantity of water passing through the meter with every revolution of the registering-piston. If now the quantity of water passing through the meter during any given number of revolutions be caught and accurately measured, the correctness of the meter can be determined. If it is found that the meter is permitting more water to pass through than is indicated by the registering apparatus, it would indicate that the notches 23 were either irregular in shape or their size had not been determined with accuracy or for some cause the piston had traveled too slow. As a general rule the piston travels too rapidly, and in order to reduce its speed I have resorted to the expedient of counteracting its motion by fans revolving in the water and in opposite directions from the registering-cylinder.

25 25 are lugs cast on the interior of the cover 2 and generally three in number. Upon these lugs is screwed the plate 26.

27 is the framework, consisting of two plates of metal and several bolts passing through them and riveted into the plate 26. Through the framework 27 passes a shaft 28, which has a bearing in the two plates of the frame. On the lower end of the shaft 28 is a fork 29, which straddles the upper end of the pin 24, said pin having on its upper end a T or cross bar of some kind.

30 is a pinion keyed to the shaft 28, and which meshes with the gear 31, journaled upon a stud in the plate 26.

32 is a pinion journaled upon the same stud and fastened to thegear 31.

33 isagearjournaled upon shaft 34 and which meshes with the stud 32 and is driven by it. The upper end ofthe shaft 34 is made square or otherwise formed so as to engage a fork or socket upon the lower end of the loose shaft 40, which is journaled in a water-tight journal in the top of the cover 2. The upper end of this shaft is connected with a train of registering-gears of the usual form for indicating the number of revolutions of any apparatus.

The train of registering-gears employed is provided with a series of dials indicating tens, hundreds, and thousands.

35 is a pinion upon the lower end of the shaft 28 and inside the frame 27.

36 and 37 are two gears keyed to shafts, which are journaled in 'the upper and lower plates of the frame 27 and meshing with the pinion 35 and are turned by it. Upon the shafts of these gears are secured the fans 38 and 39. It will be seen that the gears 36 and 37 and fans 38 and 39 -move in the opposite direction from the piston 21, but are turned by it. Hence as they move through the water in the meter they will retard the motion of the piston. If now, as above mentioned, experiment proves that the piston is revolving too slow under the influence of the streams of water to correctly register the quantity pass ing through the meter, this defect can be rectified by cutting off a portion of the wings 38 and 39, so as to offer less resistance to the revolution of the piston. Usuallya very small portion of the fan removed with a file will be sufficient. If the piston is traveling too fast and registering more water than actually passes through the meter, this can be rectified by increasing the size of the fans. The same result could be accomplished by changing the capacity of the buckets or notches 23; but the apparatus is so sensitive that it is very difflcult to make a change in the buckets of the piston slight enough to accomplish the desired result. The great virtue of my meter lies in the fact that the moving parts are subj ected to almost no friction, and consequently no wear. The piston and the registering mechanism are the only moving parts. The piston I prefer to make very thin and of a1uminium, so that its weight will be little, if any, greater than the water "in which it revolves. It has no bearing upon any part of the meter at any point, and the sides upon not only a. revolving but a slightly-upwardmotion. This causes the piston to float in the water, and hence it does not wear at all.

The pin 18, above described, is not an essential part of my structure, but is employed to closed chamber through which the water is steady the motion of the piston.

The loose shaft 40, by which motion is com- 1 municated from. theinterior to the exterior of the meter, if made of brassor similarly-heavy metal will require to be packed to prevent the escape of water; but if made of aluminium the lightness of the meter willenable the pressure of the water from below to keepthe head onthe inner end of said. shaft close-against; the-inside of the cover and form a water-tight joint.

What I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is '1. In awater-meter, the combination of an exterior andan interior chamberdivided by closed chamber through which the water is caused to pass, said chamber being." divided into two circular chambers, an exterior and interior one, the partition-wall between said chambers being perforated with water-passages, with a circular piston located within the interior chamber and which is revolved by" the current of water passing through the water-passages from the exterior to the interior chamber, with a. retarding device connected to the piston, which consists of afan or fans geared to it and revolved in. the opposite direction from it in the water within the closedchamber,su-bstantiallyas described.

3. In a water-meter, the combination of a caused to fiow, with a. piston located within said chamber and which is caused to revolve by the current of water passing through the chamber, and means located outside of the closed chamber for registering the number of revolutions of the piston, said piston and registering mechanism being connected by a shaft passing through thewall of the chamber and which is provided with a head upon its interior end, which bears against the main side of the partition and which under the pressure of water in the chamber will maintain a water-tight joint around the shaft.

4. In a water-meter, the combination of an exterior and interior chamber divided by a circular partition-walhwhichis perforated by tangential water-passages,and a circular floating piston not rigidly connected with any other portions of the mechanism, so as to permitvertical, rotary, and side motion oi? the piston, but connected by alinked fork or other equivalent device to the registering mechanism, substantially as described.

Signed at Balti-more,.in the Stateot Maryland, this 31st day of July, A.. D. 1891..

CARL SCI-ION. Witnesses:

V. W. HOLDE, J NO. T. MADDOX. 

